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A council has been forced to apologise after thousands of residents found they had been called “wasters” on stickers attached to their bins.

Black wheelie bins in the Orton Malborne and Sugar Way neighbourhoods of Peterborough, Cambs, were targeted as part of a bungled recycling campaign backed by Peterborough City Council.

It was hoped that red stickers featuring a frowning-face emoji and “WASTER” printed in bold would encourage people to cut down on household waste.

Instead, many simply complained.

Resident Jean Williams said: "The stickers have upset a lot of people because the word waster is really insulting.

“It was awful to come home and find the sticker on my bin."

Other residents suggested there were less aggressive methods of promoting recycling.

The stickers had been put on around 3,200 bins under a pilot scheme by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) that is being supported by the local authority.

Separate stickers for green bins are due to be sent out next week to the 7,000 houses chosen to take part in the test, whose recycling levels will be monitored over six months.

Around 3,200 bins were given the red stickersCredit:
Terry Harris/Bav Media

Campaigners had intended to send out the green stickers first, but their more malevolent red counterparts were distributed instead due to an “operational issue”.

A council spokesman said: "We apologise to residents for any offence the emoji bin sticker may have caused - and we appreciate we should have communicated better with residents and local councillors.

"The frown emoji sticker now on bins in Orton Malbourne and Sugar Way is part of an important national campaign by Wrap to test new ideas to increase recycling with city residents.

"It has been put on black bins, along with a leaflet through doors, to help communities think twice about what they could recycle.”

More traditional images are being used on stickers in the Castor, Ailsworth and Hampton areas, he added.

The sticker is intended to encourage recyclingCredit:
Terry Harris/Bav Media

"All feedback will reviewed to make improvements to the campaign when it is considered for roll out nationally,” the spokesman said.

The council is not funding Wrap's scheme.

Wrap said the “Recycle Now” campaign was intended to change behaviour towards waste disposal by reminding people to put the right rubbish in the right bins.

The planned green sticker is expected to soothe tensions by striking a more positive note - showing a smiling-face emoji above the less controversial moniker “RECYCLER”.

Green "recycler" stickers will be sent out next weekCredit:
Waste and Resources Action Programme

A spokesman said: "Recycle Now has learnt that there was an operational issue which meant that the stickers went out in the wrong order, and that residents were delivered the red 'waster' sticker in the first instance.

“We understand how this may cause confusion and offence for residents and apologise for this."